Books Are Still In Demand

Books are a uniquely portable magic. ~Stephen King

 

That's obviously a magic a lot of readers are still looking for as they came out to the Kentucky Book Fair in large numbers yesterday to find some of those magical stories. And most of them did carry a book made of paper out the door with them. I did have a few are your books on Kindle questions, but I also had a great time signing books for readers to carry away with them. Some were buying them as Christmas gifts. Sometimes for themselves. Books are great gifts to buy for yourself.

I had a great time sharing a table with fellow Anderson Countian, Jennifer Johnson. Jennifer and I are here posing for a picture, but we both have some to learn about publicity photos. :) Note that neither one of us thought about making sure our hands weren't covering up the titles of our books. I took another photo with Virginia Smith and Allie Pleiter that was posted on Facebook. They carefully held their books so that their hands weren't covering up the titles or the cover. So live and learn. This was Jennifer's first Kentucky Book Fair even though she's been writing and publishing for a number of years. She enjoyed meeting readers and talking to her students and former students when they stopped by her table. She teaches seventh grade and actually has one of my granddaughters in her class this year. She was a great table companion. You can check out her books at her website.

 

 

I love Book Fair. I love meeting readers and talking to other book lovers like me. I like seeing the kids carrying around new books like they've been given a prize. I like how there are so many different kinds of books at the Book Fair. There were histories and mysteries. Travel books, calendars and kids' books. Inspirational fiction like mine and Jennifer's. Then you could take home some spooky stories by my buddies, Roberta Simpson Brown and Lonnie Brown, and ghost stories by storyteller and friend, Thomas Freese.

 

Thomas is also an artist with wood. Check out the neat pins he's wearing. Here's a close up of them for you. I love the mini-tombstone that reads, "I told you my feet were killing me." Thomas is always smiling and someday I'm going to get to hear him tell those stories in person. Here's his website link if you want to check out more about him. 

 

 

But back to the fair. Santa Claus was there and so was bestselling author, Sue Grafton. Coaches Rick Pitino and Joe B. Hall showed up to sign books. And of course there were UK books for the Big Blue fans. Dave Shuffett was there with his golden retriever. My grandkids, along with a few hundred others, got to give the sweet dog a pat. And then Woody, the dachshund writer who has a little help from his friend, Leigh Ann Florence, was signing books with his paw. I got to take a photo with Woody and it's on my Facebook page. I posted one of me with Santa too. I could have given him a long list from all the books I'd have liked to take home from the Fair.

 

So, from all appearances yesterday, it seems that books and readers are still doing fine in the state of Kentucky at the Book Fair.

"I don't believe in the kind of magic in my books. But I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book." ~J.K. Rowling 

Jan Watson was at the Fair yesterday too. Remember, you can be in a drawing to win autographed copies of her latest releases, Skip Rock Shallows and Tattler's Branch by leaving a comment on a post here before November 27. Those are the books Jan had at the Fair yesterday and the people who carried them home are in for some good reads.

 

Meet Jan Watson and Win Her Books

My Friend, Jan 

"Watson's success lies in her ability to create characters that are endearing and timeless. . . ." Romantic Times Magazine.

 

One of the best things about writing in the inspirational market has been the friends I’ve made of other inspirational writers. One of those friends is Jan Watson who also lives here in Kentucky and writes historical Kentucky novels. So sit back and let me tell you a little about my friend, Jan

Jan Watson was a registered nurse and peri-natal loss counselor before she retired and began a second career as a writer. She got a great start by winning the 2004 Christian Writers Guild Operation First Novel contest for her first novel, Troublesome Creek.  She's won many awards since then including being voted 2012 Best Kentucky Author by the readers of Kentucky Living Magazine. Her books are set in the Appalachian Mountains and have a great mix of history, romance and suspense. Jan says that while she has always loved books, she never had the dream to write a book of her own the way so many writers, including yours truly, did. But then she remembered a story her grandmother told her once about a terrible flash flood that swept away a baby whose body was never found. Thoughts of this baby stayed with Jan for fifty years before she decided to save her, if only in a fictional story. 

Troublesome Creek and More

After she began to toy with writing a book about that baby, the first three sentences of what became Troublesome Creek came to her as she waited in a drive-thru line at McDonalds: “Girl! You’d better get to the house. If your mam catches you in that creek again she’ll skin you alive.” When the words wouldn’t stop coming after that and she was scribbling them down on any and every scrap of paper she could find, she knew she was going to write that story. Turns out, that story became more stories as she kept following her characters down their life paths. Her first series about that baby and her family include Troublesome Creek, Willow Springs, and Torrent Falls. I’m sure you’re noting the water connection in all the titles. 

Jan’s Loyal Writing Companion

Jan and I are both dog lovers. That gives us even more to talk about than writing. Her husband brought Maggie, a Jack Russell, home to her when the puppy was a few weeks old. Several months later, they realized Maggie was deaf, but that didn’t seem to slow her down much. Jan says Maggie understands doggy sign language, but if she doesn’t want to mind, she just turns her head and pretends not to see Jan.

Jan sometimes writes with Maggie sleeping on a pillow on her lap. But she says the best thing about Maggie is that she reminds her there’s fun to be had every day and that it’s best not to take life too seriously.

Jan’s Newest Series

In Skip Rock Shallows, Jan begins the story of Lilly Corbett, Copper’s daughter. Copper is the baby rescued from the flood in Troublesome Creek. But now we’re getting to know Lilly after she graduates from medical school and takes an internship in the coal camp of Skip Rock, Kentucky. Lilly is drawn to the stubborn, superstitious people she encounters in Skip Rock–a town where people live hard and die harder and where women know their place. You can follow Lilly down some romantic pathways in this Appalachian town as she begins to earn the residents’ trust.

Tattler’s Branch follows up Skip Rock Shallows. Lilly, married now, loves her life in Skip Rock and the people who are like family to her. With her husband away for a few months at a mining job, Lilly has her hands full with her patients and a younger sister visiting for the summer. Then an abandoned baby plunges Lilly into a struggle between what is right and what is safe. She must discover the strength of her country neighbors, her God, and herself.

Check out more about Jan’s books at her website, http://www.janwatson.net/

  

Win Jan’s Books

I have autographed copies of Skip Rock Shallows and Tattler’s Branch to give away to one lucky person. To throw your name in the hat, just leave a comment here with a way to contact you please. The giveaway is open to residents of the United States and Canada, but you must be eighteen or over to enter. Deadline to enter is midnight EST, November 27.

And if you don’t want to wait that long to read one of Jan’s books and you have an e-reader, Tattler’s Branch, is available right now through Saturday, 11/16, for the great download price of $2.99. Check it out at your favorite e-book distributor. Here’s the Amazon link.

Kentucky Book Fair Saturday, November 16

If you’re in the area, you can come meet both Jan and me at the Kentucky Book Fair at the Frankfort Convention Center this Saturday, November 16, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. We’ll be signing our books there along with about 150 other writers including inspirational fiction writers, Virginia Smith, Jennifer Johnson, Allie Pleiter, Shelley Shepard Gray, and others. Of course, I hope you’ll come by my table way in the back to say hello.The fair is a great place to pick up some unique gifts for the booklovers on your Christmas list.

As a preview to the fair, Virginia Smith and I will be talking about our books and writing at the Frankfort Senior Citizen Center, 202 Medical Heights, Frankfort, KY, at 10 a.m. on Friday, November 15. The event is open to the public, senior citizens and younger citizens too. So come on out and get a jump start on the fair.

Counting the Years at the KY Book Fair

The Kentucky Book Fair is celebrating writers and books again this Saturday, November 12, for the 30th year. There's a great article about the Fair in the Frankfort State Journal today talking about how it got started and naming over some of the famous writers who have signed books there. Kentucky Book Fair: Still Going Strong 

A few names most would recognize are former first lady Rosalyn Carter, Hall of Fame baseball legend Mickey Mantle, humorist Erma Bombeck, David Eisenhower, grandson of the late president, track star Carl Lewis, basketball legend "Pistol Pete" Maravich, and Kentucky native, Barbara Kingsolver with her first book Bean Trees. So you never know what new writers destined for fame you might meet at a book fair. 

Of course the fair always has a row of Kentucky historians, but one of the perennial favorites for many of the thirty years of the fair was Thomas D. Clark. You couldn't meet a nicer man than Dr. Clark. He was always interested in the people talking to him. He died a few years ago at the age of 101.  



I don't know how many years I've been privileged to attend the KY Book Fair. One of their main criteria is that the authors have a new book each year. I don't think I was there for their first event, but I went for several years straight in the 1980s with my young adult books. Sometimes sold out of books by early afternoon. Then I missed several fairs when I had those lean years without a new book until The Scent of Lilacs was published in 2005. Now I've had the fun of going to the Book Fair every year since. Some of the same readers come back to see me year after year and one of these days I may even remember their names. I need to keep cheat sheets because I do remember their faces. And often recognize those names when they graciously tell me who they are - again. 

Betty Mae Hodges and me at KY Book Fair 2010

It's also fun getting to know the writers who sit next to me or behind me or across from me. One year, I think with my second Hollyhill book, Orchard of Hope, I sat between a true crime writer and a woman whose book explained how to use Tarot Cards. That was an interesting year! A couple of years ago I was fortunate enough to share a table with Jan Watson, a very popular Christian writer from Lexington. Christian writers seem to have a way of embracing one another as friends from the first hello and that was certainly true with Jan and me. Last year I was seated with Betty Mae Hodges signing a memoir of her grandmother,  The Red Can. This year I'm going to get to know a new writer, but I  know we'll have stories to share. 

But as always the same as at any book signing, fair, book event, the best part is getting to talk to readers. Those of you who follow my on-line journal know that's something I love to do - talk. Whether it's with my fingers here or in person. If you're in the area, I hope you'll come talk to me face to face at the Kentucky Book Fair Saturday. I'd love to meet you if I haven't already, and if I have already, I'd love to talk books with you again. 

Thanks for reading. I do very much appreciate each of you.                    

Talking Writing with Jan Watson

One of the best things about writing for the inspirational market is the other writers I've met and how they always seem to be smiling and glad to hear about your successes. Or if things aren't going so well for you, to offer a sympathetic ear and a caring offer to pray about whatever problem might be bothering you.

Here I am with Jan Watson. This picture was taken at the 2009 Kentucky Book Fair, but we still look just as young as then. Jan and I get together for lunch when we can because there's no one who can understand a writer better than another writer. The first thing Jan said to me today was "Oh, it's so good to see a human face instead of a computer screen." She has a July 1 deadline. I have a July 1 deadline. She's halfway through with her first draft. I've typed Chapter One. Neither of us claim to be fast writers. I have more reason to be feeling a little deadline panic than she does, but we both decided it was good to have a little R & R today.
~~
So what do two writers talk about when they get together? Books, of course. Their own. The ones they've read. How hard it is to get those words down that make a new book. And sometimes they talk about their beginnings. Jan was a nurse at Central Baptist in her pre-writing days and helped a lot of babies into the world. I have been a writer from the time I was a child and never wanted to do anything else. Jan says she could quit writing and be happy. I say I can never quit writing and be happy. Jan won the Christian Writers' Guild Operation First Novel prize in 2004 and her novel, Troublesome Creek was published in 2005. Her story won everybody's heart and she's on her sixth novel about the same set of characters, because readers love her Copper Brown. Jan's never written a book that didn't sell. I've written several that I had to retire to my closet shelf. But I've also written twenty-one books that have made it out on the store shelves . That's because I've been writing more years than she has. A lot more years. Jan is one of those people you like on sight and she has such a Christian spirit of love. It's no wonder that she's so in demand as a speaker and writing teacher.
~~
So we were talking books and future books and I told her we should collaborate on a book titled On the Writing Trail with Jan and Ann. I don't think this project is getting off the ground, but it was good for a laugh and a little critiquing. While I thought it was a great title, Jan had some problems with the Writing Trail part. A wonderful collaborative partnership doomed before it even got off the ground. We have too many deadlines and she has at least three better ideas for future books.
~~
We decided we'd better take it one book at a time and make a date for lunch again this summer to celebrate July and met deadlines. At least I'm hoping for a met deadline. Oh to be halfway through like Jan. But I did type Chapter One. That's something.
~~
Thanks for reading and if we do ever do any Jan and Ann writing, you'll be the first to know. On the other hand, why ruin a great friendship? Some people work best on their own. I'm definitely one of that kind of writers. And Jan's solo way is working pretty good for her too. You can find out more about Jan's books at http://www.janwatson.net/.

People Watching at Book Fests

~~Here I am with my table sharers at the Southern Kentucky Book Fest, Jan Watson (Sweetwater Run) and Virginia Smith (Third Time's Charm). I'm in the middle with Jan on the left and Ginny on the right. See us smile. That's what you do when you go to a Book Festival. You smile and smile and smile some more. Mostly because we want to. We like talking to readers and we hope if we smile readers will like talking to us. And then of course sometimes we're smiling because a reading friend we made the year before comes back to our table to buy another book since she enjoyed the first read so much. The Christian market was well represented at the Book Fest with not only us but also Eric Wilson (Fireproof), Patti Lacy (What the Bayou Saw), and Travis Thrasher (Ghostwriter) and others.

~~Around one hundred fifty authors were at the Book Fest with all sorts of fiction and nonfiction books. You could find mysteries, romances, young adult books, histories, memoirs, cook books, picture books, and poetry collections. That's one of the fun things about going to a book fair - seeing the variety of books. And authors. The same as books, authors come in all sizes, styles and attitudes. Some authors smile and try to engage the readers with conversation or entice them to their tables with chocolate. The cake doctor, Anne Byrne, even had cake for people to eat along with plenty of napkins. Other writers sit quietly and wait for readers to approach them. Some writers desert their stacks of books to explore the other aisles of books. A few writers spend the time reading or writing notes. Some even bring editing work. Nearly all of us enjoy comparing writing stories with the writers sitting next to us.

~~Many of us admire with just a wee bit of envy the long lines that form for the more famous writers' autographs on their books. The longest lines this fair were for Laura Numeroff who wrote If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and for mystery writer, Lisa Scottoline. Actually it was fun seeing all the kids clutching books that had been signed especially to them. Their parents and grandparents were giving them a great gift helping them along the road to a life long love of reading.

~~Of course the readers on the other side of the tables come in all shapes and sizes and reading tastes too. I met a woman long haul truck driver pushing her grandson in a stroller and a retired doctor who used to go to church with Julia Neal. Neal wrote one of the Shaker books I use in my research. I met a little girl of about seven or eight who had written and illustrated her own little picture book and with mom's help had it published. I met a couple of young women who were writers - as yet unpublished but working toward that goal. I met school teachers and librarians and other book lovers. I remembered some faces from previous book fests who come every year to go fishing for a few good books to read. People who connect with books are easy to talk to and that makes a writer like me smile.

~~Hope you have a lovely week ahead and that sometime in the weeks and months ahead you'll have the opportunity to go book fishing at a book festival near you. Or if you're a writer that you'll get a chance to try to catch some new readers. Your best bait is a great book. And a smile.

Book Fair Smiles

--Smile! That's what all us writers did a lot of on Saturday at the Kentucky Book Fair. That's because there are always a lot of reading friends and other writers to smile back at us. Here I am with my tablemate and fellow historical Christian novel writer, Jan Watson. Jan is very popular with her readers. They all love her and her characters. She didn't start writing until she retired from nursing and now she has four published books with more on the way. Her new novel is Sweetwater Run. I'm actually reading it now and enjoying the story. After yesterday, I'm sure a lot of other people are reading her story today too after getting her to sign a copy for them.

--I also got to meet Laura Frantz and Gin Petty and Jim Tomlinson. There there were a few stolen minutes to talk with Virginia Smith and Allie Pleiter and Karen Angelucci and Melissa Burton, to mention a few. It's fun to compare notes with other writers. But there wasn't much time for visiting between authors. We were all too busy smiling at our reading friends.

--A lot of those reading friends came by my table and were kind enough to say they had read my books. Some of them took another of my books home with them and some new reading friends decided to give my books a try. I hope to see them back next year to say they were glad they did. Actually one teenager did come by the table to let me know that she was glad she'd given one of my books a try last year. I remembered her. She told me last year she wanted to be an editor. You get a lot of aspiring writers coming to talk to you at a Book Fair, but not that many aspiring editors. So I remembered her.

--I remembered a lot of other faces too, but I am afflicted with mental blocks on names when people ask me to sign a book. Even when I've known them all my life - maybe especially when I've known them all my life. I think it's all those made up character names up there in my head shoving all the real names aside. At least that sounds like a good excuse. So if you're one of the people I had to ask your name when I should have known it, I hope you'll forgive me for giving you a look like a deer in the headlights. I did know you. I just got your name mixed up with one of my character's names. I sometimes forget their names, too. That's why I keep a running character list of whatever I'm working on. Oh dear! I bought a book once on improving my memory. Maybe it's time I read it.

--I did have a good time signing books and talking on the fiction panel. Darrell sat at my book table while I was gone to do the panel talk and had fun filling in for me. I wish I'd had time to walk around and see everybody else's books, but the day was busy and before I knew it the day was gone.

--A few young people from Western Hills High School came by to say hello. I had the opportunity to go to their school Friday morning and talk to three of their English classes. That was fun and on my Face Book page I promised to do a blog on some of their questions. So stay tuned next week for that.

--Thanks again if you came by to see me at the Fair and thanks to all of you who not only read my books but also my newsletter and my blog. It's great to have reading friends.

A Book Lover's Lunch

I went to lunch with some book lovers today. My favorite kind of people to be around. Maybe because I'm a book lover too. My love affair with books started as soon as I learned to read and found some books that said something besides, "Look, Jill, look." Or "Run, Jack, run." Or maybe it was Jan and Jack in those reading books. Very boring. The only fun thing in those books was Spot the dog. I was such a dog lover even then that I didn't mind reading, "Jump, Spot, jump." I wanted him to jump right out of the book and be my dog. But that's another story I'll tell another day - my dog hunger.

I remember one of the first books I read was about a horse called Penny. Then of course I read Black Beauty and Tom Sawyer and Little Women. I pretty much read any book I picked up. I would even read this one old book at my aunt's house with morality stories. The only one I remember now was something about the kid not cleaning his plate. I was a picky eater back then, so guess that's why that one sticks in my head. But I always wanted to be reading. A good book was a treasure, a treat, a reward. I still feel that way, and I try to write my books to make others feel that way. Each new book is a gift to my readers. "Here, try this story," I'm saying. "Jump in and live with my people a while."

So I got to have lunch today with a couple of other writers. Jan Watson's new book, Sweetwater Run, was released in August the same time as my book, The Believer. She's very popular with her readers because her characters spring so fully to life in their imaginations and because she's just extra fun to be around. Then I got to meet Kathy Thiessen who has published a cookbook called, Somewhere in Thyme. Now isn't that a great title? She was sweet enough to give me a copy and the friends with her said it would make me want to cook. So I tried to give it back. No, just kidding. It's a beautiful book and I'm enjoying all the great illustrations that Kathy took herself. She's not only a talented cook, but a talented photographer with an eye for beauty.

The other ladies there were members of a bookclub. I love bookclubs. I wish I could talk to a different bookclub every week in person or on the phone. It's so much fun to talk to people who love books, and maybe the most fun when you get to answer questions about your own book. Sometimes people expect wiser answers about why you let this character do this or that, but quite frankly sometimes the answer is just because that was what happened. When those characters come to life in your head, they can lead you down some odd paths as they show you their stories. Jan said people keep jumping into her stories in minor roles and then end up telling her "Hey, you've got to tell them my story."

That's happened to me a few times too. Aunt Love in The Scent of Lilacs was that way. I didn't really know her story until she sat down and told it to Wes and Jocie. But it had to be told to make the book work. Little sister Hannah might have been my surprise character in The Believer. I enjoyed getting to know her while I was writing.

Hope you are reading a book with characters you're having fun getting to know this week. And thanks for reading. I said I was going to only write two or three paragraphs, but I guess I had some thoughts that jumped up and said I had to tell them too. I'll work on being more concise next time.

Christmas Memories

Well, the Christmas tree is up. And decorated. A few of the lights don't work, but if you squint your eyes a little, you don't notice it much. It's one of those trees where the lights are already wrapped around the branches. That's great, but whoever decided to put the kind of light strands on it where if one bulb is messed up the whole strand goes out needs to be sentenced to two weeks straight of pulling out those little bulbs and trying new ones to see if that's the bad light. I never did find the bad light, but my thumbnail is ready to fall off. ;o)

Somebody said I should check the fuse, but I haven't tried that yet. I just turned the tree around so the non-lighted part isn't exactly in the front. And with all the decorations on, you hardly miss those lights. Hardly. Anyway the tree's up and that's the important thing. I said it would be up this weekend and it is. My sisters and I even put up my mom's tree today. Hers is a short tabletop tree that we just put in a garbage bag and set in the corner of the garage in between Christmases that are definitely coming closer and closer together. I mean when I was a kid, Christmas Eves lasted longer than the whole year between Christmases now.

Christmas Eve was always a fun time for us when we were kids. That's when we went to my aunt's house. She spoiled us girls with a whole pile of presents, mostly clothes, but it was still fun to have that stack of brightly wrapped gifts to tear into. We had to eat the delicious supper first and she always had fruit punch spiked with gingerale. She was Christmas for me and the first Christmas after she died was lonely and sad and oh so different. I think that's true for everybody who's lost loved ones in the past year. Those empty spots around the Christmas tree are hard and reason for a few tears. But I hope you have good Christmas memories to keep the joy and the echo of their love in your heart.

I have lots of great Christmas memories. How about you? What about a favorite Christmas gift? My very favorite gift, well, I have two. One was a fountain pen and a bottle of blue black ink when I was thirteen or so. I had to have blue black ink. And the second was a desk. Writer-to-be gifts. Actually that desk was replaced by another Christmas gift several years later when my husband bought an old secretarial desk and had it refinished for me. That desk has held my typewriters and then computers while I've written a lot of books. The drawers groan when they are opened, but that just makes it all that much better. It has personality. And I still have the first Christmas present desk too.

One of my fun Christmas memories is the year when my daughter, Tarasa, was three or four and when anybody asked her what she wanted for Christmas, she would say "A candy apple." In those days about the only place you ever saw candy apples for sale was at the county or state fair in the summer time. So no candy apples were to be found in December. I wonder now why I didn't just put an apple on a stick and dip it in caramel. But I didn't, and Tarasa was more than happy with the candy apple substitute toys under the tree on Christmas morning. Years later I bought a chocolate covered apple, wrapped it up, and told her sometimes Santa was slow reading his list, but eventually he always came through.

As a Christmas treat for myself, I met Jan Watson, author of Troublesome Creek, Willow Springs, and Torrent Falls, for lunch last Thursday. We talked until the waitress was surely ready to throw us out. We weren't getting the offer of any more water in our glasses. That's for sure. But it's always so much fun comparing notes with a fellow writer that we had a lot to talk about. That's why you see writers gabbing nonstop to one another at book fairs. After weeks and months locked away in their private space trying to dig words out of their strained brains, writers need to talk. On top of all that Jan is a super person and writer. Her books are very popular and good reads.

That's what I aim for in my own books. For the stories to be good reads. Hope if you get one to read, you'll think I've been successful. Don't forget. If you want to enter my book-giveaway drawing, send me an e-mail from my website, www.annhgabhart.com. I'd love to hear from you, and thanks to everybody who comments here. I'll enter your names in the drawing too. Just be sure to tune in after the first of the year to see if you won.

I hope you have lots of great Christmas memories and that this month you'll be adding to your collection by taking time to do some things you enjoy this Christmas season. Talk to you Wednesday.